6 Comments
Mar 15Liked by Sarah Shapiro

I'm a salesperson at Retail, and we are currently clearing out one specific cold weather accessory vendor by RTV (return to vendor) as we do every year at this time. I understand the benefit for the retailer, but what's in in for the vendor, who now has to keep all this stock in a warehouse until they send it back next year (yes, we get mostly the same styles every year). And if the buyer knows we will be RTV ing it anyway, why don't they buy more of what sold out the year before (although that might be a store specific issue, lol).

Also, sometimes the RTV d goods do wind up at off price retailers, which makes sense as well.

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As the former Cold Weather Buyer at Bloomingdale’s I cannot wait to answer this question!! I have a future post on RTVs and negotiations that will include this topic. Cold Weather/seasonal goods manage this in a specific way and it can include insurance as well.

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Mar 15Liked by Sarah Shapiro

I'm in the Midwest and CANNOT GET ENOUGH of wondering why (our) buyers buy for gift giving in the month of December only, not for people who actually have to live through it. All of my managers throughout the years have smiled politely and said "oh well" so I'm looking forward to your explanation ;)

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I've got you covered! Adding to my questions to help answer in 101s. Thank you so much for your comments and support. I really appreciate it. Such thoughtful questions.

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Mar 15Liked by Sarah Shapiro

This was super educational as always—love this series. How to get a buyer’s attention would be so interesting. And a deep dive into the math behind influencer product collabs and codes (like Jenni Kayne discount code influencer strategy!)

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That’s another great topic! Thank you always for your great questions and support.

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